Craig Kimbrel Named to NL All-Star Roster as Replacement

For the ninth time in his seasoned career, Phillies’ right-handed reliever Craig Kimbrel has been named to the All-Star team.

Kimbrel is replacing Brewers’ reliever Devin Williams, who decided not to pitch in the All-Star game so that he could minimize his workload ahead of the second half of 2023. Williams has pitched in 33 of the Brewers’ 89 games so far this season.

Kimbrel, 35, has a 3.41 ERA in 37 innings in 2023; he has struck out 57 batters and has a 0.97 WHIP.

His numbers, however, do not reflect how valuable he has been for the Phillies in 2023. He is 14/14 in save opportunities, and he has not allowed a run since the Phillies’ 3-2 win over the Tigers on June 8. Kimbrel also won Relief Pitcher of the Month in June, where he posted a 0.69 ERA and struck out 21 batters.

In 2021, Kimbrel was named to the NL All-Star team in a season where he had a 2.26 ERA in 63 games with the Cubs and White Sox. In 2022, though, Kimbrel struggled as a Dodger and was even excluded from their postseason roster. He signed a one-year, $10 million deal with the Phillies during the offseason, and he got off to a rough start, posting a 8.25 ERA through his first 14 games of the season.

Thanks to some midseason adjustments, Kimbrel saw his fastball velocity increase and began to find a better feel for his curveball. Needless to say, those adjustments proved to be season-changing, as Kimbrel has been near-perfect since sliding into the closer role for the Phillies.

Kimbrel, along with Nick Castellanos and the Phillies’ coaching staff, will play against the American League all-stars on Tuesday, July 11.